


Eyes

by MaeaStorm



Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Blindness, Blood, Graphic descriptions of gore, Httyd whump, Self Harm, Whump, might turn ito a Krogan/Eret romance, probably not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:27:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24297343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaeaStorm/pseuds/MaeaStorm
Summary: (Set a few weeks after the events of HTTYD 2)When Hiccup goes out for a fly with Toothless, he definitely isn't expecting to find Krogan, of all people. Although this Krogan is very different than the one he used to go up against during his time at the edge.
Relationships: Eret & Krogan, Heather & Krogan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Huh, look at that! I created something new! Might Be a multi-chapter, not really sure. Edit- Take a look at the concept art here- https://reallyprofoundkryptonite.tumblr.com/post/618756706655207424/concept-art-for-eyes-please-ignore-my-sloppy

The rider and his dragon landed in the small, forested clearing. It was getting closer to sunset, but that didn’t seem to bother the two, as the rider hopped off of his dragon’s back with a happy sigh.

“Feels good to be back, doesn’t it, Toothless?” Hiccup asked, turning to look at his dragon, who grumbled to him irritatedly.

“Oh come on, you big baby!” He joked. “I thought you liked flying!” 

The dragon grumbled at him, before stiffening, sniffing the air.

“Toothless?” He asked, cocking his head. The dragon growled, and Hiccup frowned deeply, turning in the direction that the dragon was glaring into.

There was nothing there.

A twig snapping made the teen stiffen slightly, as he reached for inferno on his belt, instinctively.

The bushes split apart, revealing a familiar figure, and Hiccup snarled. Toothless charged up a plasma blast.

Then, the man’s head turned to look at him. Horror churned in Hiccup’s gut at the sight of two, black voids glaring at him from underneath a pair of olive lids. 

‘ _ No _ ,’ He thought, while the figure of Krogan shifted through the bushes, leaning against the tree next to him for support. ‘ _ No, it shouldn’t be like this- _ ’ 

Hiccup shook his head, and placed a hand on Toothless’s head.

“Easy, Toothless,” he urged, running a hand across the dragon’s scaly forehead.

Krogan’s eyelids twitched, and he moaned slightly. He trembles visibly, while Hiccup moves a little closer to him.

“Haddock?” Krogan’s voice is a rough, grating rasp of metal against metal when he speaks. “Please…. Please-” Krogan swallowed. “Please be real-”

Krogan reached a hand out towards him, and Hiccup blinked slowly, confused. He was so caught up in staring that he didn’t know how to react to the arm. 

Krogan looked like he’d been through Hel and back. He was ungodly thin- any fat that he’d once had on him had wasted away, and the muscle he had was starting to do so as well, making him all but skin and bones.

The weight loss had made his eyelids sink into his sockets, despite still having blood crusted on them. 

His shirt- the same one he was used to the man wearing- was far too large for him- as if he was a little kid trying on his father’s clothes. His skin visibly shimmered with sweat- and was pale and pasty- a dull greyish color in comparison to what it should have been.

Cuts, scrapes, and fresh scars marred his body. The one long, still bleeding one being tinged green around the edges. Infected.

Hiccup swallowed, and he placed his hand in the bony grips of Krogan’s fingers, which seemed to instantly latch onto him in a bone-crushing grip.

The young chief winced at the grip- how Krogan was so strong still was beyond him, but it was a good sign. He still was capable of being healed and treated without his wounds becoming fatal.

“Hey there-” He cut himself off, wincing again. “Uh… mind loosening your grip there?” It wasn’t Krogan’s fault that he was gripping so tightly. He was blind and probably scared to his wits end.

Krogan loosened his grip slightly, while Hiccup moved closer to him, his hand sliding out of the man’s grasp.

Krogan whined at this, but the whine was cut off when Hiccup placed his hand on Krogan’s chest to try and steady him.

“Easy now,” Hiccup urged. “I’m just gonna sneak my arm under here-” he slipped an arm underneath Krogan’s armpit. “There we go.” 

Hiccup started to pull Krogan away from the tree, but Krogan didn’t seem to be having any of it.

He snarled loudly, and shoved Hiccup away from him, accidentally pushing him to the ground. 

Hiccup watched the large man’s upper lip twitch up slightly, showing off his teeth, Krogan quickly lowered his lips though, his eyebrows hitching up his forehead worriedly. 

Toothless growled from behind him, while Hiccup stood, brushing himself off.

“Hey, hey,” he put out his hands. “We’re all okay here, alright?” He questioned, and Toothless huffed loudly.

Krogan lowered his head towards the Night Fury, showing off his neck in a show of submission. Not what Hiccup was expecting, but it was better than the alternative of having Krogan getting angry with Toothless and trying to start a fight.

That wasn’t what Krogan needed- he needed a healer.

Now that things seemed to be settling down more, Hiccup once again snaked his arm underneath Krogan’s armpit.

“Lean against me, big guy.” He instructed, pulling Krogan towards Toothless. Krogan struggled a little bit at first, digging his fingers into the bark of the tree behind him.

“Come on, you’re okay,” Hiccup rubbed Krogan’s side with his free hand. The man was as tense as a board, his muscles taut and tight underneath his skin. “It’s alright. Everything is okay.”

Eventually, Krogan seems to be lulled into a sense of comfort by Hiccup’s voice, and he lets Hiccup pull him towards Toothless and his saddlebag.

Hiccup eased Krogan into the grass, while he petted his hair to keep him calm. It was a greasy mess, but, it had an interesting texture- soft and fluffy with a little bit of a scratchy texture. He had more hair than what he looked like he did, that was for sure. 

“There we go.” Hiccup stated. He began to dig through his bag for the waterskin of Toothless’s saliva he kept with him. He pulled that out, and placed it on the ground next to him.

Then, he pulled out another waterskin- this one with a picture of Toothless painted on it, and full of water- and looked at Krogan.

“Are you thirsty?” He asked gently. He didn’t know how long it’d been since Krogan had last had any water, but he probably was parched.

Krogan glanced up at him, his eyelids twitching again. Then, the man held out his hand, and Hiccup shook his head.

“Alright just sit tight.” He instructed, as he settled over Krogan’s hips.

“There.” he finished, uncorking the top of the waterskin. Krogan lowered his hand, cocking his head slightly. 

“What are you doing?” He asked, his brows cinching together.

“Helping you.” Hiccup placed the waterskin to Krogan’s lips. “Now drink.”

Krogan grumbled at him angrily, but he does as he’s told. 

When he’s done, Krogan pulled his head away to lay it back against Toothless’s back. He sighed gently, swallowing thickly.

“Why are you helping me, Hiccup?” Krogan asked softly, his voice still but a mere rasp through the air. “What is your motive? What do you want with me?” Krogan’s questions hang in the air, and Hiccup can tell the man is growing agitated- his eyebrows- once calm lines across his forehead- are arched downwards, and his lips are lifted from his teeth in a snarl.

“Because, Krogan. You need it.” Hiccup sighed. “You’re dying.” Krogan hissed at the statement.

“I know that, and I don’t  _ care _ .” The statement is slightly unnerving for Hiccup, but he sighed deeply. 

“Krogan. I’m helping you because you need it.” Hiccup stood up. “Now Come on. I’m taking you to Berk.”

Krogan is starting to shiver against Hiccup’s back halfway back to Berk. Hiccup understood why, as Krogan had no clothes on despite the ripped and torn red shirt he wore, his boots, and his thin, also torn pants.

It would be even colder due to the fact that winter was starting to wrap its ice cold fingers around the Archipelago.

Soon, there would be snow, and with snow, Krogan would have frozen to death.

“We’re almost there, Krogan.” Hiccup stated. “Just hang on.”


	2. Chapter 2

Krogan was unconscious by the time Hiccup and Toothless landed at the top of the spire that Gothi’s house was perched on.

Hiccup pulled himself from Krogan’s arms, and got off of Toothless, where Krogan slumped forward against the Night Fury’s back.

Hiccup swallowed, and wrapped his arms around Krogan’s midsection, and rolled him over. 

He groaned softly, and Hiccup grimaced, hoping he wasn’t hurting him, as he placed his hands underneath Krogan, and began to lift him, almost falling over, as he wasn’t at all expecting Krogan to be so light.

It was awkward carrying him, as Krogan was so tall that if Hiccup held him wrong, he would go tumbling to the ground, Hiccup re adjusted his grip on the man, and walked over to Gothi’s front door.

“Gothi! I need help with something! Can you open the door?”

He heard the old lady shifting around for a little bit, before the door opened.

One of Krogan’s arms fell out of Hiccup’s grasp, and the old lady’s eyes widened, before she ushered Hiccup inside.

She instructed him to lay Krogan down on the bed, and after Hiccup had done so, she scribbled furiously for a few minutes.

_ Why does he have the blindfold? _

Hiccup scratches the back of his head, while Gothi lights a candle, and the room is bathed in a soft, yellow glow.

“He’s had his eyes cut out.”

She looks over towards Krogan with a pitying expression, before she climbs onto her little stool, and pulls the piece of cloth from Krogan’s eyes.

Gothi’s breath hitches at the sight, and Hiccup grimaces in mild disgust, as even when he was unconscious, he couldn’t move his eyelids enough to close them completely- there was simply thin slats of darkness cracking through his eyelids.

Gothi gestured him over towards her shelf, and told him to go fill one of her bowls with water.

Hiccup gets back on Toothless, and flies over to Raven Point with the bowl, where he hastily scoops up some water from the small lake, and carefully flies back.

When he gets back, he hands the bowl to Gothi, who smiles, and then turns back to Krogan, and begins to gently dab at the man’s eyelids, cleaning the dried blood from his lids.

__________________

“How’s he doing, Fishlegs?”

Hiccup walks into Gothi’s hut, to find Fishlegs and Gothi perched on either side of Krogan’s frame.

Hiccup’s stomach churned with sickness as he looked over Krogan’s pale, thin body.

Gothi and Fishlegs had removed his boots and top, and Hiccup had to shove down bile- Krogan was in much worse condition than Hiccup had originally thought he’d been in, with multiple, stitched shut wounds on the little bit of his bony abdomen that was visible from the top of the furs.

“About as good as he looks, Hiccup.” Fishlegs turns his head to look at him, worry clear on his face. “I…” he swallows “I just don’t understand how someone could do this to another human being,”

“I know Fishlegs.”

Fishlegs and Gothi pull the furs back, and Hiccup gives a strangled noise of confusion at the hideous, and familiar scar that had been placed onto Krogan’s withered side.

It was Drago’s brand.


	3. Chapter 3

Hiccup swallows. The scar was very, very old- so old in fact, that it was bone white. But it’s age did not take any of the grim details of the brand- it looked just like Eret’s, with the Monstrous Nightmare head being impaled by a sword- the same mark Krogan had worn on his belt and cloak.

He’d been Drago’s slave.

“Hiccup, what’s wrong?” Fishlegs asks.

Hiccup gestures towards the brand, swallowing thickly as he steps closer to the bed, and falls to his knees.

“Krogan wasn’t fighting us because he wanted to.” he whispered softly, as he gently thumbs along the stark lines of the brand.

“We know.” Fishlegs comforts.

Hiccup moves his hand down Krogan’s side, grimacing slightly.

“Have you tried getting him to eat?”

He looks up at Fishlegs, who cracks a genuine smile.

“He’s eating and drinking just fine- he almost made himself puke, in fact he ate so fast.”

Hiccup frowns, and stands, watching Krogan’s sides heave slowly, rhythmically in and out. He was sleeping. 

What sort of cruel punishment was starving and blinding your workers?

\---------------

“Hiccup, do you have  _ any _ idea how  _ dangerous _ Krogan is?” Eret’s yells.

“Eret, I know how dangerous he  _ was _ . And, I also know that he asked for  _ you _ specifically.”

Eret’s eyes widened in shock- he’d thought for the longest time that Krogan was dead, but, for Hiccup to have taken him in, and then try to help him, something was up. Worry creases his brow.

“Hiccup, what happened to him? What did Drago do to him?” 

Hiccup sighs softly.

“I… I think it would be best if I showed you.”

\-----------------

Eret swallowed as soon as he walked into the old healer’s hut. The sight that greeted him wasn’t pretty.

Krogan’s head turned to him, and Eret had to shove down bile. Krogan’s eyes were gone- the space underneath each lid an empty, black void.

“Krogan? Oh,  _ Thor _ , what did he  _ do _ to you?” Eret steps over to the side of the bed, and sits down on the little stool that the old lady had provided him with.

Eret doesn’t expect Krogan to say anything, and Krogan doesn’t- instead he simply holds out his hand, and Eret slides his own into Krogan’s palm.

Eret sighs softly.

“I missed you,” 

Krogan’s voice was rough, rasp- a far cry of what it had been when he’d last spoken to the man.

“I missed you too big guy.”

He slides his hand from Krogan’s grasp, and gently sits down on the bed next to him.

Krogan makes a soft noise of discomfort, but Eret soothes it away by gently running a hand through Krogan’s hair.

“Come here.”

Eret slips his boots off, and undoes the covers, trying his best to ignore how thin and bony Krogan was as he scoops Krogan into his arms, and settles back onto the bed, propping himself up against the wall behind him.

Krogan shifts a little bit, and Eret hisses softly in pain, as Krogan’s hip cuts into his thigh.

“So-”

“You don’t need to apologize to me, Krogan.”

Eret lifts his arms, as Krogan rolls off of him, and instead decides to snuggle up to his side, his breath coming in short, wheezing pants from exertion.

Eret wraps his arm around Krogan, and lets the man lay his head on his chest.

Eret idly runs a hand through Krogan’s hair.

Krogan heaves a deep, exhausted breath, and Eret pats his back.

It’s not even a few minutes later that Krogan is fast asleep, his breaths deep and calm.


	4. Chapter 4

_ Krogan’s eyelids dripped tears of blood onto the floor beneath him, his body hanging limply from his chains from a mixture of exhaustion and pain. _

_ “They say blood is thicker than water, Krogan.” Viggo’s voice bites into his ears, and he glances up. Viggo couldn’t possibly be here, could he? _

_ “But you abandoned me, Krogan.” Viggo’s hiss is right in his ear, and despite his exhaustion, his head snaps in the direction of Viggo’s voice. _

_ Large hands rub across his shoulders. _

_ “You deserve everything you have coming to you.” _

_ The hands cup his bony hips, and tighten to the point of bruising. _

\---------------------------

The pain is the first thing to register for Krogan. 

His eyelids twitch, and he gives a soft, pained whimper at the shock of pain that stabs itself into his skull. 

“Shh, shh you’re alright,” The voice makes Krogan realize just how wonderfully warm and pleasant he feels.

A pair of warm, soft arms hug themselves around his waist, and then he’s pressed into an even warmer chest.

He rolls over, so his face is pressed into the warmth, and shivers. For so long he was so, so cold, and now he didn’t want anything less than what he was given now.

The person’s strong heartbeat is soothing, and he drifts off again.

\---------------------------

_ “Why did you fail me, Krogan?” Drago growls lowly.Krogan swallows, fear making his hands shake. _

_ “I… there were others, sire....” he whimpers softly. _

_ “SPEAK UP, WORM!” Drago’s fist buries itself in Krogan’s stomach, causing tears to spring to his eyes. _

_ “There… There were others, Sire!” he yelps. Drago gives him a sickening smile, and he cups Krogan’s chin in one of his hands, thumbing gently across his cheek. Krogan instinctively leans into Drago’s touch. _

_ Drago suddenly grips him tightly, his grip making pain rip across his features. _

_ “Now, how hard was that, Krogan?” Drago growls, and tilts Krogan’s head to the side slightly. _

_ Krogan squirms in Drago’s grasp, trying to get away from him. _

_ He wanted to yell and tell him to stop, but he knew that would only make Drago even angrier with his failure, as Drago had little tolerance for mistakes.  _

_ Even if they were very, very small. _


	5. Chapter Five

Krogan was still abnormally thin, even if he’d gained at least a little weight over the past weeks. He was still light enough for Hiccup to pick up and carry around without much issue, although he was pretty aware most of the time now, and he didn’t like to be carried.

Thing is, Krogan was still far too weak to walk by himself, and he needed some way to get around, even if it was uncomfortable for him.

Krogan looked up at the ceiling of Hiccup’s hut at the moment, and Hiccup wasn’t sure if he was sleeping, or just being very, very quiet.

He gently rubs a thumb down Krogan’s hand, and Krogan’s head slowly rolls over to look at him.

“I thought you were asleep.” Hiccup jests, and Krogan says nothing. Krogan hadn’t spoken a word since they had moved him into the upstairs of Hiccup’s hut, and Hiccup was worried. 

The cut in his throat had been infected, and the infection could have spread to his vocal chords.

But, Hiccup was sure he was fine, as he’d gotten a bit more color back into his skin, and he wasn’t clammy to the touch anymore- his fever was gone- a good sign.

“How are you feeling?” he asks softly.

Krogan gives a weak, tired huff.

“You will go away if I tell you, right?” he asks, and Hiccup is slightly taken aback- not because he spoke, but because of the tired, pain-edged attitude that Krogan had shockingly given him.

“I assume you are feeling better?” he asks happily, and Krogan nods slowly.

“I am tired.” He stated. “I need to sleep, but I don’t want to.” 

Hiccup blinks at this.

“Krogan, what do you mean?” He asked.

Krogan sighs.

“Nightmares.” He shivers. “That’s all sleep brings me, is nightmares.”

Hiccup frowned deeply at that, and he rubs another finger down Krogan’s hand.

“Gothi can fix that, Krogan.” he stated, smiling. “You know she can.”

Krogan looks over at the wall.

“I hate being a bother to her.” He muttered, his eyeless lids twitching when he gazed back at Hiccup.

Hiccup’s smile faded.

“A… bother?” his brows knit together even tighter. “You aren’t a bother, Krogan.” he stated. “In fact, Gothi loves your company. She says it herself, because you’ll actually listen to her stories.” 

Krogan’s eyebrows raise slightly.

“It’s common courtesy, Hiccup.” he muttered. “Listening to your elders is just polite.”

Hiccup chuckled softly.

“Oh, Krogan, come on, let’s go talk to her about it, okay?” he asked. “And, you’ve been wanting to walk by yourself, so we can try that as well.”

Hiccup stood, and left to get Eret, who was standing right outside the door.

Eret had been charged with taking care of Krogan and other things, so it made sense that he was always there.

Eret wrapped one of his arms underneath Krogan’s armpits, and he smiled at him, as he helped him stand.

Hiccup hadn’t noticed it, but Krogan was getting stronger and stronger every day- he was able to stand now by himself, and was getting better at walking on his own.

The weight he’d gained was really helping in his progress, as well.

Krogan’s legs trembled the first few steps that Eret was there guiding him, but, once Krogan is used to walking, he is on his way, and taking powerful, long strides.

Eret simply guides him now, until they make it up to Gothi’s hut.

Gothi is waiting quietly for them, and she sits Krogan down on the cot in her hut.

_ What is the matter? _

“He’s having nightmares,” Hiccup stated, and the old woman smiled gently. She moved over to her table, and begins to work.

Once she’s done, she hands Krogan a small vial of fluid, and she instructs him to drink it.

For now, he would sleep in Gothi’s hut.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Small Time skip ahead a few months. Sett more towards the onset of winter

In the following months, Krogan gains his weight back, and he’s started to spar with some of the other members of the gang, as well as Hiccup and Astrid sometimes, if they were available.

He doesn't talk much, though, and Hiccup is having trouble figuring out why, but he enjoys Krogan’s company nonetheless- he’d realized that, after Krogan had gotten ahold of a piece of paper and a pencil, that he was a very capable artist- he probably was even better when he could actually see.

The rest of the village adapted to his presence, and, in fact, the children loved Krogan- and they were one of the only things that could make him smile or laugh- genuinely- Krogan’s smiles towards Hiccup were dulled and never really reached his eyes- fake.

If only he knew of what kind of turmoil Krogan’s brain was going through.

It was snowing.

He knew this because he could feel the cold flakes on his shoulders and his arms, before they would melt and slide down his skin. However much it impeded him not to have eyes, his other senses were always on-target, and always aware.

He didn’t see it as a disability anymore, no, it was just a minor inconvenience. 

The man reached out a hand, placing it against the cold, sturdy stone of the railings that led up the steps to the Great Hall.

His eyelids twitched underneath the bandages that had been placed over them. It was still, and silent out here. The huge, thick wooden doors to the hall muffling any and all noise from the inside.

Krogan cocked his head, and he gently ran his fingers through the snow on the bannister, clumping it into his hand, and playing with it in his fingers. It was freezing to the touch, but it eased his nerves.

Shocking temperatures that usually hurt others were a pleasantry for him. Something that made him relax and pull himself together.

“Hey, Krogan, come on, bud, your food’s getting cold.” Hiccup is suddenly there- seeming to have realized that Krogan hadn’t, in fact been following him.

The man squirmed slightly, dropping the snow he’d grabbed with a small noise of discomfort.

“You shouldn’t be doing that anyways. We don’t want you to get frostbite.” Hiccup began to push him towards the Great Hall with a sigh.

Krogan reached a hand out towards the snowy bannister again, only to have it smacked away.

“No,” Hiccup stated firmly. “You don’t even have any proper clothes with you to even be outside.”

Krogan looked away, his face falling ever so slightly. Hiccup was right- he knew it- but his mind- some deep, unsettled part of him- liked the feeling- no it was the texture- of the snow in his hands. The sensory of feeling that in his fingers was soothing, even if it made his fingers feel like ice.

The warmth of the Great Hall slapped him in the face when Hiccup opened the door. Krogan’s skin felt like ice against his bones. In fact, it almost hurt, he was so cold. 

He shivered, and Hiccup sighed deeply.

“See, what did I tell you Krogan?” he asked, and Krogan heard the distinct tinge of disappointment on his words.

“Now you’re probably going to get sick.” The young man sighed. “Again.” 

Hiccup started to guide him around the room, and Krogan lowered his head slightly in nervousness, his breath hitching.

He never ate with the others in the army. No, he sat with Drago. He ate when he ate- often he only got table scraps, or small bits of some of the other men’s food from when they ate- mostly because the guards of his cell pitied him. 

One especially did.

The young man was so… naive to think that his kindness was well spent on him. 

The young man would have been killed if Drago would have found out that he was not only the one cleaning and treating his wounds after beatings- but the one who let him out. 

The one who freed him from his chains of being a slave who’d failed his master- punished with slowly rotting away and starving to death because of his own stupidity. 

In fact, the kid seemed to be in awe of even being in his presence- let alone touching him.

The look on his face when he’d started to refuse the food he’d gotten for him…  _ hurt _ . It  _ pained _ him, and Krogan was absolutely disgusted by it- that empty ache that swelled in his belly made him sick even now.

Krogan swallowed thickly, when Hiccup froze, and he felt the boy eyeing him.

“Is everything okay, Krogan?” His disappointment was clouded over by a deep set of worry- one that made Krogan tremble with nervousness.

He’d been daydreaming again, hadn’t he?

Krogan balled his hands into fists, tightening his jaw so that his lips formed a straight line. He was a wall. Emotions were nothing to him. Being in pain made him weak, and weakness is punishable by death. 

The short mantra repeated in his head a few times, as it then faded out when he calmed back down slightly.

The cold, painful stewing of guilt continued to churn in his belly.

“Krogan?” Hiccup asked gently, his worry aking the guilt bubble even harsher in Krogan’s stomach. 

The urge to spill his guts out in front of Hiccup was oh so tempting. Not telling anyone was eating him alive from the inside out- making him crazy with guilt and turmoil.

But there were too many people now. Too many eyes too many ears- too many living souls that would laugh and talk behind his back like the eels that they were. 

The cold claws of anxiety wrapped around his mind- its talons sharp and black. Cold and cruel like the smile that the red-eyed beast that represented his fear-, and Krogan ripped himself out of Hiccup’s grasp.

Then, he ran back out into the cold, cold air. He didn’t stop running.

Not until he was gasping and wheezing for breath, and his head was starting to haze with the exertion he was putting himself through.

He collapsed in the snow, his knees cracking painfully against the ice of a frozen pond. 

His hands shake, as the chill starts to creep into his extremities. His hands ache with the cold, and he balled his hands into fists once more, only to uncurl them, when the feeling of fluttering, warm liquid began to leak down his cheeks.

His eyelids twitched.

Krogan clawed his fingers, and drove them into his eye sockets through the bandages. His tears, once clear and plain, ran red with blood.

Krogan’s hands were ripped away from his face by a gentle, yet firm and commanding grip. Hands much smaller than his rub delicate circles into them.

“Don’t do that, dear,”

It’s Hiccup’s Mother.

She pulls him to his feet, even though he kicked them, trying his hardest to squirm out of her touch.

He yelled.

“Krogan, calm down,” Her words make him pause his struggles. “You don’t need to be fearful anymore.” Krogan grit his teeth, as a large, powerful presence behind him makes him freeze up with terror. Ice chilled his veins down to his very core.

“Easy, Cloudjumper,” Valka removes a hand from him, and she wrapped her other around his waist.

Krogan wiggles in her grip, while she pulled him up onto the great dragon’s back. 

The ride back, he said nothing.

It was becoming more and more common for him to be silent, that when he did speak, it hurt him. His voice was already so damaged and busted that not using it was breaking it further.

Once they landed, he was gently led into the warmth of another room.

‘Cloudjumper’ follows behind them, but, once Valka guides him to sit down, it’s in a nest of soft furs and blankets, and it smells heavily of scales and sulphur. 

The scent makes his sockets begin to drip blood again- the smell is so familiar- so deeply ingrained in his mind, that he can't help his tears. His dragon was gone- Drago had ordered her slaughtered, and she’d been killed right in front of him.

His Basil was gone.

“It’s alright, Krogan.” Valka soothed, while a large, warm presence curled around him with an unfamiliar gargle. The warmth was familiar and welcoming, but he hated it. He loathed it with every fiber of his being, because he knew it wasn’t  _ his _ Basil.

The woman pulled him into a hug, and he gave a soft growl. He didn’t need pity. He didn’t need anyone. 

“Shh, shh,” She soothed. “It’s okay, Krogan.” she patted him on the back, as a second pair of footsteps- and the sound of claws on the floor scraped into his eardrums.

“I’m here, Miss.” The voice sent a tremble down his spine.

“I’m glad you could make it, Heather.” Valka stated gently.

Heather and her dragon moved around him, and then the others seemed to settle down to his left side.

“Wh… What do you want?” Krogan rasped out, his throat screeching with agony at the mere shivering of his vocal chords. 

One of them sighed.

“Krogan, we know what it’s like being alone.” Valka started, sounding slightly nervous. “Although I would think Heather would understand what you went through better than I would.”

Krogan nestled back into the dragon behind him, his face turning into a small pout.

“You need to let your feelings out, Krogan.” Heather started. “Otherwise they are going to boil over and make you do things you’ll regret.” the young woman sighed. “Believe me, I would know.”

Krogan shivered for a moment, wanting badly to get up and run away- to run and never look back or until he ran off the island into the rocks that surrounded it, but he was too weak. Too tired, and too hungry to do much more than sit.

He scowled angrily, and he glanced away into the black hole of his vision.

“I was so thin because I chose not to eat.” He doesn’t look at them when he speaks “I don’t want to live, and starving to death would be a much better way to die than whatever Drago had planned for me.” he spat out, all of his hostility seeming to grow and multiply as he spoke.

The stunned silence that edged after his words made him turn away even further, thinking they would laugh at his own stupidity.

“Krogan- I-” Heather’s words are barely coherent to him, and she gave a soft noise of confusion and pain, while Krogan blinked over at her- or where he thought her voice was coming from.

Valka was the one to steady him. He hadn’t realized he was shaking so horrifically until now. 

“Easy, Krogan.” She soothed. “We don’t find this funny.” 

Heather is next to speak.

“Just let us help you. Talk to us. You need to talk.”


	7. Chapter 7

_ The men are rough with him when he’s being forced to the cell he would now be calling home. But Krogan was simply happy that he was alive- despite the torture he knew he’d be subjected to- the horror he would be put through due to his own failure. _

_ One of the men pulls his arm a little too roughly, and he had to bite down the urge to cry out in pain, as his already sore shoulder was put through that much more torment. _

_ One chuckled at him, his eyes glittering with mirth. _

_ “Oh we’re going to be hearing a lot more of those over your stay here, aren’t we?” He chuckled. The man then mockingly rubs a hand down Krogan’s back, and, despite the motion seeming to be soothing, Krogan knows full well that it is, in fact a taunt at him. A mocking laugh at how far he’s fallen _

_ Krogan is thrown into the cell, and he’s left there to rot until Drago comes back.  _

Krogan can feel the two eying him when he finished the first part of many that was to come.

“It’s humiliating.” He stated, clawing his fingers into his arms. “It just gets worse from there.” He growled.

Heather sighs deeply, and her dragon cooed softly.

“Krogan, it’s not humiliating.” She stated. “Talking about this will make you feel better. Believe me. It worked for me.” The young woman stated. 

“Now, just continue, Krogan.” Valka urges. “We won’t laugh at you. You’re completely safe here.”

Sighing deeply, the man growled to himself, and started with the beginning of Drago’s punishment for him.

_ “I’ve already taken your freedom, Krogan.” Drago stated, circling. “What else can be taken from you besides that?” The man paused in front of Krogan, frowning deeply. _

_ Krogan says nothing, but his eyes glance over towards the wall, a scowl etching his face, hiding his unsettled fear and pain. He was scared. Terrified, even, and it was taking everything he had not to just scream and cry and snivel at Drago’s feet like the good little dog that he was. _

_ Part of him was screaming that being submissive was the right thing to do- he had to be submissive he needed to be submissive. It was the good thing. It had to be. But, at the same time, if Drago saw him as weak, he would be considered weak and stupid, as well as be killed faster. _

_ Drago chuckled at him, and tilted his head up to look into his eyes. _

_ “Oh of the things I could do to your face,” The man snarled. “Branding it would make everyone know you are  _ mine _.” He chuckled, running a thick finger along Krogan’s cheek, as if he was marking out where he would place the brand. _

_ “But, that is for later.” Drago pushed Krogan away, and then ran his fingers along Krogan’s shoulders with a chuckle of amusement.  _

_ He forced Krogan to his feet. _

_ “Strip.” Drago ordered. “Your first punishment is a beating.”  _

_ Krogan looked down. The man then began to pull off his clothing, until he’s completely naked. Then, he stood there, his eyes half-lidded and dull. _

_ “Good boy.” Drago stated, right before his fist slammed into Krogan’s stomach. _

_ Krogan wheezed, but he still continued to stand, as he was instructed. It was what his master wanted of him, so that is what he would do. _

_ When Drago was done, Krogan simply laid there, staring blankly off into space. He made no noise. He wasn’t supposed to. Beatings were private affairs, and therefore, Krogan was supposed to be silent. _

_ He didn’t want to be muzzled, after all. _


End file.
